Matt Thurber, editor-in-chief at AIN Media Group, has been flying since 1975 and writing about aviation since 1978 and now has the best job in the world, running editorial operations for Aviation International News, Business Jet Traveler, and FutureFlight.aero. In addition to working as an A&amp;P mechanic on everything from Piper Cubs to turboprops, Matt taught flying at his father’s flight school in Plymouth, Mass., in the early 1980s, flew for an aircraft owner/pilot, and for two summer seasons hunted swordfish near the George’s Banks off the East Coast from a Piper Super Cub. An ATP certificated fixed-wing pilot and CFII and commercial helicopter pilot, Matt is type-rated in the Citation 500 and Gulfstream V/550. Based in the Pacific Northwest, Matt and his team cover the entire aviation scene including business aircraft, helicopters, avionics, safety, manufacturing, charter, fractionals, technology, air transport, advanced air mobility, defense, and other subjects of interest to AIN, BJT, and FutureFlight readers.

Editor-in-Chief

Matt Thurber

The first Loft Dynamics Airbus H125 virtual reality (VR) simulator in Alaska will be installed at Pathfinder Aviation’s base in Anchorage. The utility operator plans to launch training in the VR simulator in October, focusing on proficiency and mission training, and it will seek FAA Level 7 flight training device qualification.
With 22 helicopters flying more than 7,000 hours per year, Pathfinder finds it difficult to send pilots elsewhere for simulator training or to work around weather conditions to train in company helicopters. The VR simulator training will include inadvertent instrument meteorological condition encounters and avoidance; emergency procedures; external-load operations; normal and abnormal procedures; whiteout conditions; mountain, pinnacle, slope, and confined-site operations; and local site and terrain familiarization.
Plans call for training in the VR simulator to be for Pathfinder pilots, but the company will make the training available for other operators.&nbsp;
“In Alaska, we don’t get to choose when conditions become difficult, so our pilots need to be ready before they do,” said Pathfinder CEO Rogan Parker. “The value of having this simulator in Anchorage is repetition. We can put pilots through a whiteout, IIMC event or emergency, work through decision making, then run the scenario again. That kind of repetition is hard to achieve consistently in the aircraft, and it gives pilots the chance to build judgment before the stakes are real.”

News about simulators and training procedures, as well as workforce.

Pathfinder Places Loft H125 Virtual Reality Flight Simulator in Anchorage

With 360-viewing, the device gives pilots a realistic picture of the outside world

Plans call for training in the Loft VR simulator to be for Pathfinder helicopter pilots, but the company will make the training available for other operators. 

Pathfinder Places Loft H125 VR Simulator in Anchorage 

2024 Corporate Aviation Leadership Summit

Amy Wilder

News and issues relating to business, corporate and private aviation, primarily regarding turbine-engine-powered airplanes and helicopters. Subjects include aircraft, engines, maintenance, operations, personnel, acquisitions, accidents, safety, security, and training.

Course fees include NBAA-BACE 2026 registration

Safety, Leadership Development Courses Added to BACE

Reports flag pay, schedule, relocation friction points

CrewBlast Co-Pilot AI Tool Analyzes Candidate Feedback

Charles Alcock

New developments at airports including regulations and noise issues; legal disputes; openings, acquisitions and mergers.

New developments at FBOs including regulations and noise issues; legal disputes; openings, acquisitions and mergers.

London-area airport is starting its third training program

Farnborough Airport Recruits More Operations Trainees

Events planned across 27 countries and activities include tailwheel build, flight planning

Twelfth Girls in Aviation Day Expects 34,500 Attendees

Chad Trautvetter

Technology can speed up the process but doesn’t replace human oversight

Bizav AI Agent Skyler: ‘AI Doesn’t Replace Humans’

Kerry Lynch

Salaries are up by 7% in some cases

NBAA Survey Finds, as Industry Grows, So Do Salaries

Four-decade career in aviation journalism culminated in leading AIN’s editorial team

AIN Editor-in-chief Matt Thurber To Retire in October

News and developments about airplanes, helicopters and unmanned air vehicles used in all varieties of operations, including airlines, military, business, commercial, general aviation and private.

Essential news and analysis on the defense aerospace business. Your trusted source for new and ongoing programs and requirements in military aircraft (manned and unmanned), engines, avionics, weapons and associated systems, including ground-based air defense.

In this article

AS350/H125

Loft Dynamics

Airbus Helicopters

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